Research Partnerships with Developing Countries
A Programme funded by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Projects of the second phase of the Programme (2005-2008)

The Programme Research Partnerships with Developing Countries, launched in 2004 by the SNSF and the SDC, supports joint research projects concerning themes essential for the development of Southern countries. The partnerships must also strengthen local scientific capacities and reinforce the ties between researchers of the North and of the South.

The call was very successful with 82 eligible proposals sent to the SNSF. The selection of the proposals was carried out in two steps : at first a pre-selection, based upon development criteria only, eliminated 38 proposals. Then, a deepened evaluation, which considered not only the scientific quality, but also the relevance for development and the quality of the partnership, was made by SNSF and the SDC, based on external expertise.

The selected joint research projects represent an important thematic variety, from the question of decentralisation to tropical diseases, through natural resource management or development of eco-materials. Among the 16 Southern partners involved in the 14 projects, 8 are from Africa, 4 from Latin America and 4 from South-East India. The joint research projects, which last 3 years, started in October 2005. They support more than 45 scientists in the Southern countries.

• Taxonomy and biology of jumping plant-lice (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) of Cameroon, including pests of cultivated plants and forest timber and strategies for an integrated pest management.
  
  
• Investigations on lesser-used Timber Species for the Construction of light Bridges in Ghana
  
  
• Nutrient cycling and methane production in Lake Kivu
  
  
• Towards sustainable disaster preparedness. The role of local, national and global responses in enhancing societal resilience to natural hazards in India and Nicaragua
  
  
• eLearning and primary school teacher training in a disadvantaged brazilian context
  
  
• Vulnerability and new skills: challenge both for the young people and the institution in Mali
  
  
• Development of ecomaterials for low cost housing
  
  
• Use of waste water in urban agriculture in the Dakar area, Senegal : an interdisciplinary study towards sustainability
  
  
• Food-borne trematodiasis: role in hepatobiliar and intestinal morbidity and risk patterns for infection in ecological and socio-economic distinct settings of Southeast Asia
  
  
• Low cost and flexible solar cells for developing countries
  
  
• Understanding and improving malaria diagnosis in health facilities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  
  
• Towards sustainable land use in the Bolivian Altiplano: effects of grazing and fire on biomass productivity, diversity and soil stability
  
  
• Gestion durable des ressources en eaux souterraines côtières – Modélisation physique et probabiliste. Application à la côte orientale du Cap Bon, Tunisie
  
  
• Legal issues related to water sector restructuring: human rights, environment, agriculture and socio-economic aspects